The present invention relates to orthotic devices. More particularly, the invention relates to devices for inhibiting excessive foot motion and for relieving pain associated with the excessive foot motion.
Pronation of a human foot involves an inward rolling motion of the foot as it contacts the ground during a gait cycle. Supination involves an outward rolling motion of the foot as it contacts the ground during a gait cycle. Pronation and supination of the foot normally occur during the gait cycle and are generally observed as rotation of the heel bone or calcaneus, e.g., during pronation the heel rotates outwardly and during supination the heel rotates inwardly.
Excessive pronation or supination of the foot is undesirable and may cause discomfort and injury. Common maladies resulting from excessive foot motion include heel pain, knee pain, shin splints, and stress fractures. For example, heel pain is commonly associated with a condition known as plantar fascitiis, which is an inflammation of the plantar fascia ligament running along the bottom of the foot between the calcaneus and the metatarsal phalangeal joint. This inflammation is often associated with excessive foot pronation.
Attempts have been made to provide orthotic devices for counteracting excessive pronation and/or supination and for treating symptoms associated with these conditions. However, there remains a need in the art for devices for inhibiting excessive foot motion and for relieving pains associated with the excessive foot motion.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved orthotic device.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described that is suitable for counteracting excessive pronation or supination and which tends to relieve pain associated with the excessive pronation or supination.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described that relieves pain by dispersing heel strike forces during the gait cycle.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described that is economical to produce and uncomplicated in configuration.
With regard to the foregoing and other objects, the present invention is directed to an orthotic device for inserting within a heel portion of a shoe of a user for inhibiting excessive pronation or excessive supination of a user""s foot, and for comforting associated pain by cushioning the heel.
In a preferred embodiment, the orthotic device includes a wedge member and a cup member positionable adjacent the wedge member.
The wedge member has an upper surface, an opposite lower surface, a front end, a heel end, a pair of opposite sides, and a cutout extending between the upper surface and the lower surface for receiving a portion of the heel of the user. The upper surface of the wedge member is sloped to define a substantially constant angle of from about negative 15 degrees to about 15 degrees to counteract the tendency of the foot to either excessively supinate or to excessively pronate.
The cup member includes an upper surface, an opposite lower surface, a front end, a heel end, a pair of opposite sides, and a shallow blind bore adjacent the lower surface of the cup member and extending toward the upper surface of the cup member and located so as to substantially underlie the cutout of the wedge member when the cup member is positioned adjacent the wedge member. The bore is substantially filled with a cushion material.